Turkey's CHP to dismiss provincial chairs who skip party meeting

Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu is planning to remove any provincial chair who does not attend an upcoming party gathering. After the party’s “mutlak butlan” decision, the party’s executive board has already dismissed 52 provincial chairs and says further removals will follow at a meeting scheduled for the end of July in Ankara.

Trabzon provincial chair Mustafa Bak, who was recently removed, told reporters that the Supreme Court’s postponement of the case to September buys the party time, and that the party is preparing either to find a new path or create a new party. He said district chairs have not resigned and are waiting for further instructions.

The party’s Central Management Board (MYK) is set to hold a press conference on the “Terörsüz Türkiye” (Turkey without terrorism) process before the provincial chair meeting, reinforcing the disciplinary push.